Watch John le Carre's teaser for 'A Delicate Truth'

Those eager for "A Delicate Truth," the latest from spy master John le Carre, now have something to whet their appetites as they wait for his new novel's U.S. release on May 7. Le Carre premiered a short film on his website Thursday in conjunction with the book's U.K. publication.

The one-and-a-half minute teaser draws on the novel to deliver clues about the conspiracy at its heart. There's little action, and no characters appear, but atmosphere and suspense are present in spades: a flashlight pans across a handwritten draft of the novel; a computer's screen saver bounces darkly around a screen; and a pigeon lifts off a branch. Le Carre himself makes an intriguingly Hitchcockian cameo, sitting stolidly behind his desk as the camera pans slowly away.

The film is directed by Kim Gehrig and produced by Somesuch & Co. and the Ink Factory (the company behind the forthcoming Philip Seymour Hoffman-led production of "A Most Wanted Man"). The sound, to which the film's sense of suspense is due, was edited by the team behind "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and mixed by the Oscar-winning Mark Paterson. Art direction was provided by James Foster, of "Skyfall."

"John le Carre has been innovating in his writing for fifty years, and I wanted to carry this spirit forward into the film by pushing the concept of a book trailer," Gehrig said. "My desire was to make something that draws you in and gives you an indelible sense of the world of the novel. At the same time, I wanted to preserve the experience of reading the book itself."